LSI, Agere Get Together

The combined company, to be called LSI Logic Corporation, will offer chips and software for enterprise storage and wireless networks and consumer electronics products.

LSI specializes in serial-attached SCSI (SAS) and SCSI chip controllers for hard disk drives, said Phil Brace, senior vice president of corporate planning and marketing for LSI. Seagate and other HDD makers pop LSI chip controllers into their machines to keep them running.

On the consumer-driven side, LSI also makes chips and software to power DVD players and set-top boxes.

Brace said Agere is well known for a broad portfolio of electronic components, including pre-amplifiers, motor controllers, read-write channels for the desktop, consumer and mobile space.

Agere chips are found in everything from cell phones, PCs and hard disk drives to wireless networks, including chips for GPRS, EDGE and satellite radio systems.

"This combination allows us to grow in the storage market because we'll have complementary products in our hard drive controllers and their consumer components," said Brace.

With Intel and AMD leading the market for server and desktop processors, LSI will continue to plug away at the multi-billion-dollar market for chip systems and software, competing with rivals such as Broadcom and Marvell.